The Hound of Heaven was a famous poem written by English poet Francis Thompson.  The name of the poem is strange, but the truth behind it is unmistakable.  “As the hound follows the hare, never ceasing in its running, ever drawing nearer in the chase, with a steady and sure pace, so does God follow a fleeing soul by His Divine grace.”  I’ve often heard people say that while in a backslidden or unbelieving state, the “Hound of Heaven”– the Holy Spirit– pursued and chased them until they finally surrendered to the chase.  It’s a beautiful picture of God’s love and grace.

But in today’s post, I want to go to a different place with the “hound” imagery.  In this case, I will go with a more literal interpretation of the hound of heaven, with a twist of the miraculous.  You’ll like it, so keep reading.

For over 35 years, my legendary in-laws, Bill and Frances Skinner, served as Baptist missionaries in Paraguay– deep in the heart of South America.  When they arrived in Paraguay in 1950, there were very few evangelical believers in the traditionally Roman Catholic nation.  Although the Paraguayan people welcomed outsiders to Paraguay, especially Americans,  they were not usually tolerant of a non-Catholics.  It was mainly due to religious superstitions and a false understanding of what the Bible taught.  Centuries of darkness about the Bible had left many frightened when they heard about a “personal relationship with Jesus Christ,” and how they could have direct access to God without going through an earthly priest.  This suspicion of evangelical Christians was especially prevalent in the towns and villages outside of the capital city of Asuncion.

The Skinner family, including my wife Peggy who was born in Paraguay, were sent by a Paraguayan Baptist church in Asuncion to begin a new mission church in the rural town of San Lornezo, just outside of the capital city.  They rented a ranchito (a tiny farm, usually with a simple one room house) as a place to begin the church.  They began with a list of people from San Lorenzo who had been treated at the Baptist Hospital in Asuncion as their first contacts.  Since they had been treated with love and care at the hospital, they were less suspicious and proved more open to attending the new mission church.  Bill Skinner was actually a medical missionary doctor at the hospital.

Before long a small congregation had begun attending the church, with several new converts among them.  Seeing the growth in the little church probably alerted the townspeople to the new religious intrusion in San Lorenzo.  Fear and suspicion had no doubt begun to cause whispers among the villagers, and stirred-up a need to chase the new church out of town.  Such irrational fears had been known to cause ignorant mobs to get out of hand and hurt people, thinking they were doing their religion a favor.  Could that happen in San Lorenzo?  Yes, it could.

In a book of Frances Skinner’s memoirs, Adventures in Paraguay: Our Story, my incredible mother-in-law gives an account of a miraculous event that occurred in San Lorenzo when the church was in its infancy.  She tell it best.  Here is her account:

     “It was a rainy, cold, dark Wednesday night and a prayer meeting was in progress in the small church building at San Lorenzo.  The very small congregation was singing.  Suddenly, the building began to reverberate with the deafening sound of rocks falling on the tin roof of the building.  Speech was impossible.  The group continued to sing, and then began began to pray.  Rocks had been thrown before, but never with the intensity of this particular night.  In addition, the electricity had been turned off in the city that night because of the weather.  The meeting place was lit only by candles, which made the situation even more ominous.”

 “As we all waited and feared, and prayed, we became conscious of barking dogs.  It was a pack of dogs, not uncommon in rural Paraguay.  The dogs travel together like wolves.  As the barking increased, the rock bombardment diminished and then stopped.  The tormentors fled, and the barking dogs faded in the distance as they chased the stone-throwers away.  God answered the prayers of this little group of new Christians with a pack of dogs! ”    “The ways of the Lord are past finding out.”  Romans 11:31

Undoubtedly, the “Hounds of Heaven” in Paraguay followed the instructions of the Lord that memorable night.  The persecution ended and the mission thrived.  The church at San Lorenzo grew steadily and is today a very strong witness in the fast growing suburb of Asuncion.  I was privileged to preach there in the 1980’s during a trip with Peggy to visit Paraguay.  The Baptist Hospital in Asuncion is today one of the best hospitals in all of South America, and continues to be a major avenue of spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the people.  Evangelical congregations have grown in Paraguay by leaps and bounds.  I am so honored to have married into a family of missionary heroes– pioneers in bringing Christ to the heart of South America.

For all of my blog followers, this won’t be the last you will hear of the amazing stories of the work of God in Paraguay.  My life has become so rich from knowing and loving Dr. Bill and Frances Skinner.  I want yours to be enriched as well.

      “And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”   Romans 10:15